eyak language

a) What are the arguments on both sides of the debate in promoting a single language?: some people argue that promoting a single language is a positive thing because it will better increase communication between people who could not communicate before will not be able to communicate. however, some other people argue that with a single language will kill any kind of culture there is. 
b) How far should we go to save a dying language? What are the financial and cultural implications? i think that we should not try to save dying languages. even though it means that there will be an end to a culture, it is too costly to preserve language. in order to preserve a language, it needs to be recorded on paper with all the correct symbols and definitions along with correct pronunciation. even then, it decreases the urgency at which people are concerned with the dying language and will cause them not worry about its deterioration.  also, even though the language is preserved, the native people that speak it are also dying out. 
c) After reading: “Every Teacher is a Language Teacher,” what do think of the I.B. supporting International Mother Language Day? i do not support an International Mother Language Day. the IB that during an international Mother Language Day, there is to be no english, which is unfair to those who speak english as an only language. also, i see this day as a way of appealing to complaining cultures who think that the IB is forcing language on students since the IB only offers their program in either english, Spanish, or French.

earth vs eyeth

a) What is the primary argument of the students representing Deaf Culture? the primary arguement from students is that the president of galudet university is not "deaf" enough ands lives in the world of the hearing.
b) Why would the Deaf Culture students value a President of Gallaudet who spends more time in Eyeth over Earth? Shouldn't a President of a college represent all students? the deaf culture students would value a presidnt who spends more time in Eyeth instead of Earth because they would believe that the president has more of an understanding in deaf culture.
c) What are the advantages and disadvantages of a Deaf person spending too much time in either Eyeth or Earth? one advantage of a deaf person spending too much time in Eyeth is that they fully understand Deaf culture. an advantage of a deaf person spending time in Earth is that the deaf person can they can understand how we interact. however, a disadvantage is that if a deaf person spends too much in either world, they lack the knowledge about the other.
d) What is your opinion of the fight at Galludet? Should Jane K. Fernandes be President of Gallaudet? i think that the protests over the new galludet president is pointless on behalf of the galludet students. to protest a new school president becuase he is not "deaf enough" is childish. a president of a school is suppose to represent and lead the school, he is not suppose to be chosen by the student body.  

chapter 7 abel questions

1. How do Mill and Frege disagree with Russell about grammatical sentences and meaning?

   Russell argues that a sentence has meaning only when it is whole and complete. However, Mill and Frege argue that sentences have meaning because every word in a sentence contribiutes to the overall idea it is trying to convey.

2. Abel provides 8 distinguishing features of meaning.  Please provide your own example for each.

Indication: the snow outside means it’s cold.

Cause: when did this event happen?

Effect: thank you

Intention: we will go tomorrow

Explanation: how do you ride a bike?

Purpose: we did not need to fignt that battle.

Implications: we’ll go if it is sunny.

Significance: will we ever be able to stop war?

3. Why does Abel believe that science and metaphysics is involved in the discussion of linguistic meaning? Abel believes that science and metaphysics are involved in the disscussion of meaning because he believes that the world influences meaning. The meaning we convey about the world has to have evidence to what the world is like.
4. Aristotle provided 10 categories that defined “the range of applicability of a term.”(p. 65).  Please provide your own example for each.

Substance: the sequoia is a tree

Quantity: it can grow to over 100 feet tall

Quality: it is a very old tree

Relation: it is part of the Sequoioideae family of trees

Time: it is approximately 2200 years old

Action: it recycles carbon dioxide

Passion: it is being cut down

Situation or position: it is in a lumber mill

State or condition: it is now paper

5. How does Abel differentiate between Reference and Naming?

   Abel defines reference as how language affects the world, whereas naming is directly applying a word to something. Naming does not have any direct affect on the world, it is how we perceive the word which has the effect.

6. On page 66, Abel explains the historical significance of naming.  Can you think of any examples he left out?  Is there any contemporary example of which Abel would not be aware?

   I personally cannot think of any more examples

7. What is the main function of naming?  What doesn’t it do?

   The main function of naming is to label things. Without naming, there is no way to identify objects or describe them. However, naming sometimes does not denote a unique thing.

8. What is the difference between sense and reference?

   Abel describes sense as a description. A person can determine what something is if they have a clue of its applicability. Abel describes reference as that a word is assigned to. For example, the word ball is a word assigned to an object. The word has no direct meaning. However, telling someone about  a round object is describing an object which gives the person mental picture of what you are talking about. However, it lacks a label.  

9. How does Abel differentiate between Connotation and Denotation?  What about Intension and Extension?

   Abel describes connotation as a description of the word without any reference. Denotation is described as to what physical examples a word brings to mind. The intention of a word is what the word is supposed to mean, whereas extension is the total of everything that the word describes.

10. What does Abel mean when he says: “Though meanings require words, they are not identical to words.” (p. 68)?

    Abel means that a word depends on the meaning that it is trying to convey. No single word is linked to a single meaning.

11.   What is the connection between names and descriptions?  Do you agree with Abel that we use ‘linguistic symbols to organize experience” (p. 69)?

    The connection between names and descriptions is that names can be used as descriptions. I agree with able about using linguistic symbols because when we describe an experience, certain words and characters are used to refer to it.

12. Why is referential opacity a problem?  Be sure to mention his specific examples.

    Referential opacity is a problem because certain words, characters, and descriptions are not interchangeable. For example in the phrase “Samuel Clemens adopted the pen name Mark Twain to conceal his identity,” the name “Samuel Clemens is the only name that can be used in this sentence.

13. What is the problem of creating a “subsistent entity”? (p. 70)

    The problem for creating a subsistent entity is that there is no direct proof of its existence or fakeness.

14. How does Russell differentiate between “descriptive phrases and names” (p.70)?   
    14. Russell differentiates between descriptive phrases and names by saying that descriptive phrases do not have any particular denotation, but can be describe many different thing, (the grassy field), and names have a specific denotation or no reference at all.

15. What is the connection between language and Knowledge by Acquaintance and Knowledge by Description?

    The connection between language and Knowledge by acquaintance is that in order to name something, you need to be acquainted with it. Also, language is connected to knowledge by description because language is used to describe objects and experiences.

16. What is a word?  What is an icon?  What is an index?

    Words are descriptive, but not necessarily applied to a specific thing. A word becomes a name when it is directly applied to an object. An icon is a visual reference which represents a real world object. For examples: signs along the road that warn the driver that deer are known to cross the area.

17. Why is it important for philosophers to “clarify thought by clarifying language”?  Why are Scientists offenders” (p. 72)?

    Abel states that philosophers need to clarify their language because their thoughts are lost in their misuse of words. scientists are also offenders because they use words that have no denotation nor connotation.

18. What does Abel mean when he says “Just as meanings are not the same things as words, so meanings are not the same things as operations or methods or uses” (p. 73)? meanings do not apply to words only, but are also descriptive and sometimes do not need certain words or names to express the purpose. the same applies to actions where meanings do not need actions to express them

warspeak

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,481087,00.html

to defuse the crisis in Gaza: stop the war in gaza

tok notes

ththree components of languagee .

• rule governed: follows a set fo codes and laws
• intended- all language is communication, but not all communication is language.
• creative and open ended

definition theory: broad understanding of a word. if one word is said, it can be attributed to several other characteristics example) France: country, europe, french,

denotation theory: the literal meaning of a word. what a word was created to express example) bird is a flying animal

image theory: the mental image that comes to mind when a word is produced. each image is different to each person that pictures the image. ex.) when i hear the word "mountain" i think of a tall peak with snow on it.

vagueness: not precise. example) "the man is old". this does not give a specific age, but leaves it up to interpretation.

ambiguity: words and phrase that have more that one meaning. "block" to either block a ball or a toy block.

secondary meaning: a deeper meaning to a word. example) france is weak.

metophors: a parallel example to another thing. he was a cheetah.

irony: the opposite outcome of what is expected. example) the famous marathon runner came in last.

untranslatable words: words that cannot be translated across languages. these words 

idioms: a phrase that cannot be defined by deriving the seperate words. example) its raining cats.

labels: words that are associated to a specific thing only. example) fat people.

stereotypes: a general image applied to certain people. example) black people like fried chicken

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: people are influenced by their language. example) there are no gender defining words in finnish, and their government has more women that the US government.

emotive meaning: a word that is not emotional. example) brick

weasel words: an empty phrase. dose not have any meaning to it. example) my sources say...

grammer: structure of a writen language. example) subject, verb, direct object

reavealing and concealing: words that either coverup theri actual meaning, or words that are to the point of the topic. ex) warspeak: kill= take out

diving bell essay

Andrew Cameron

Q: to what extent can we distinguish between knowing as a community and knowing as an individual? How much does one’s knowledge depend on interaction with other knowers?

Knowledge is some thing that can be either collective among people, or kept to a personal level.
Knowledge has both advantages and disadvantages to being an individual thing. When knowledge is a personal thing is mainly an empirical knowledge. For example, when some says that something is hot, it is their preference. However, you might have a higher tolerance or a lower tolerance that the other person. Only I know what I think is hot and no one else. However, even though individual knowledge has advantages, it does also have some disadvantages. For example, it is difficult be communicated or confirmed by others. It is difficult to explain to someone exactly how hot, cold, or painful something because each person has different thresholds for their own personal knowledge.
Knowing as a community has advantages and disadvantages. When we know as a community, we have the advantage of verifying and establishing knowledge with each other. This relation is used to create rules and laws. For example, we are taught that when you drive, a red light means to stop and a green light means to go. Without this collective knowledge, there is not any way that society can establish a code of law. Also, the community is used to ensure comfort to the ones who have knowledge because the community allows them to see that their knowledge may be valid with the knowledge of others I think that this is evident in “the diving bell and the butterfly.” Jean-Dominique likes to have the community around him because it gives him comfort from himself. This is why he hates Sundays because he is all alone on these days without any reassurance. Even though knowing as a community has its advantages, it also has disadvantages. Knowing as a community changes between different communities. This is seen by the travel between different cultures.
Knowing as a community and knowing as an individual are related, but cannot be confused with which is which. I think that we as people can distinguish between knowing as a community and knowing as an individual with ease. For example, we know as a community that green means to go and red means to stop. These kinds of rules and laws cannot be know on an individual level through empirical experience, but through education by the community since the community had made these rules. Individual knowledge is known through empirical experience because we know things on a personal level and through the use of our own senses. For example, “I know that the coffee is hot because I burnt my tongue when I drank it.” This knowledge that the coffee is hot is individual knowledge because I had to drink it to know how it felt. Of course I could have been told that the coffee was hot, but I would not know how hot I thought it was until I tasted it for myself.
When people are alone with themselves, they will only apply on the knowledge they gain on an individual level. This is because there is no reason for a person to have knowledge with the community when the only knowledge they need is knowledge that will benefit the individual. For people alone, there is no need to have knowledge as a community.
In both knowing as a community and knowing as an individual, I think that empirical knowledge is the most important way to gain and retain knowledge. It is also the most justifiable way to claim knowledge. I think this because with empirical knowledge, things are experienced with a firsthand view, which gives the knower how he/she is affected by the experience. When we use deduction we are making assumptions on a single case is based off of a belief. However, we may not know what the end result or that it is accurate on with what we assume it is. I think that the same thing applies with induction, which is when we make a general statement out of a specific example. This way to gain knowledge is not as valuable because it involves some belief. This is because we also assume things with induction. When we base a general statement off of a single specific thing, we are taking the risk that the specific example is a normal example and not some form of an abnormality.
Even though most knowledge can be gained through personal experience and ways that we perceive things, we cannot determine knowledge by acquaintance without interaction with other people. If there are no people to interact with then we cannot know how people react to things outside of what we react to. How can I say, “I know how Jim reacts to these things,” if I do not know Jim on a personal level. With this said, I cannot know what a typical reaction or response is to something without first knowing how other people react to an event.
In knowledge, knowing as an individual, and knowing as a community have both their advantages and disadvantages. As well as they can be distinguished apart from each other. Even though each type of knowledge is essential, you cannot live without knowledge on an individual basis. This is true because a single person cannot be unaware of his or her own thresholds.

pink noise

pink noise is natural and soft music taht dull the interuption of loud noises. i think that sturgis should use pimk noise because in the building, the walls are thin and sounds travel throught the walls easily.